


Earthborn

by liveinink



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23195461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liveinink/pseuds/liveinink
Summary: Tali looks back on the milestones in her relationship with Shepard.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Tali'Zorah nar Rayya
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	Earthborn

There was a girl who stood in the park. She walked along the familiar paths with worn boots kicking up dust. Frayed jeans brushed against the ground, and an oversized hoodie hung loosely on her shoulders. The shirt was new. The first new article of clothing she’d received in years. It was red, of course. The same off-color red all her “family members” wore. 

She walked with eyes downcast. Stars shone down upon her, her guardians in a world where there were none. Yet, much as she loved her stars, she so rarely gazed upon them. The girl always seemed to find her eyes drawn to the ground as if by magnetic force. But she knew her stars were there, and she knew her course. She walked the same paths every night. It was her only escape from her dreadful reality. She allowed herself to daydream in the park, her mind lost in undescribable trips of glorious fantasy. Yet, always she was alert. Danger triggered a sixth sense of hers that responded immediately. As it did that night.

The girl followed her usual route. Wrapped in a bittersweet dream. A gentle breeze brushed delicate strands of dark hair across her alabaster face. As she lifted her head to gently replace the rogue strands of hair, sparkling brown eyes met a shadow. 

The shadow spoke with a voice of smooth velvet, deep as rich purple. 

“So this is where you escape to every night.”

The girl simply stared back, brow furrowed.

“Not the most secret hideout.”

She did not respond.

The shadow was forced to step forward. A tall, broad-shouldered man likely in his thirties smirked at her. Muscular arms crossed his chest.

“What do you do out here, anyway?”

The girl remained silent. Then spoke suddenly, with conviction.

“Dream.”

The man scoffed.

“That’s awfully dangerous.”

“Maybe.”

The look of determination did not slide from her face.

“I guess you never were really afraid of danger.”  
The man’s smirk had disappeared.

“I feel like, now that I’ve caught you,” the man hesitated, “everything’s going to change. Don’t know why, can’t explain it. But I do.”

The girl did not move.

“You want to leave, don’t you?”

The girl hesitated. Then came a very short nod.

“Well, you’re eighteen now, guess I can’t stop you.”

The man broke eye contact.

“But that means you’ve gotta go now. The others will stop you. Even if they’ve no right.”

The girl licked her lips. 

“Thank you, Leon.”

He shrugged. 

“Where will you go?” 

His voice almost cracked.

The girl finally lifted her head to her beloved stars. She felt in an instant their infinite light, and a content warmth filled her chest.

“The stars.” she replied serenely

Leon swallowed, “You better get going.” 

She nodded. Slowly, she turned, and began to walk away.

“Jonica!” Leon called out.

She turned briskly.

“I hope you find happiness. I hope you find wholeness somewhere out there. You deserve so much more than you’ve had.”

The girl felt her eyes tear.

“Thank you, Leon. I won’t forget you. I promise.”

Then she turned for the last time, and walked away without a second glance.

Leon looked on, a melancholy in his eyes.

“Good luck, Shepard. Let the galaxy know how amazing you are.” 

-

Jonica stood solemnly before the fish tank. She leaned against the cold glass, watching the fish swim aimlessly, blissfully unaware of the chaos and suffering erupting throughout the galaxy. Jonica thought for a moment how she might like to simply meld with the water. Forever flowing and alive, yet completely unconscious. It was thoughts such as these which saved her from the endless avalanche of immensely more unpleasant ones. 

“Jon?” a voice called groggily 

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She turned her head.

“Jon, are you alright?” Tali slowly pushed herself upright in the bed

“Yes, I’m fine.” she smiled softly, “No need to worry.”

“Considering the odds we’re facing every day, the burden that’s been dropped on your shoulders,” Tali said as she began to shake the sleep from her head, “I’d say there’s plenty of reason to worry.”

“Maybe so.” Jonica conceded, “But right now, I’m fine. Really.”

Tali examined her closely.

“Something must have woken you up.” Tali reasoned, “What was it?”

“More nightmares.” Jonica replied somberly.

Tali gazed upon her. Her eyes were glazed with exhaustion, and there seemed to be a permanent furrow in her brow. She stood with her weight on one leg, arms crossed, and shoulders slumped, as if she were imploding. Tali saw the weight of the galaxy crushing her, and she wished she could lift it. But since she couldn’t, she decided to help the woman she loved in any way she knew how. And tonight that was simply by being there. 

“Here,” she coaxed, pulling back the covers, “Come back to bed.”

Jonica hesitated, but obeyed. Tali pulled back the covers, and let her slide in next to her. She did not meet Tali’s eyes, but simply stared ahead. 

“Do you want to talk about?” Tali asked.

“Not really.” 

Tali examined her for a moment.

“Okay.” she replied, “But, if you change your mind... I’ll be here.”

“I know, Tali.” she turned to meet her gaze.

Jonica’s eyes shone with love and gratitude, briefly lifting the veil of stress and exhaustion. A small smile tugged at Tali’s lips. She reached out a hand to caress her lover’s face, and Jon sunk into her touch. Tali remembered the first time she’d felt her skin. She’d been surprised by how pleasant it was to the touch. She gently rubbed her thumb along her cheek. She traced the spot where her scar had once been. A crescent moon across her cheekbone. She always assumed it had been a relic from Akuze, but eventually she’d learned Jon had gained it in her days in an Earth gang. It had been removed during the Lazarus project, which Jon was actually a little upset about. 

Tali abandoned the phantom scar, and began to trace patterns in the splash of light freckles across Jon’s nose. She’d always been intrigued by them, a facial feature she had not seen prior to meeting her. She moved her hand behind her neck, and into the soft folds of her dark hair. Brown had never been one of Tali’s favorite colors, but after gaining such appreciation for Jon’s hair, and big, sparkling eyes, it had become her most beloved color. 

As she stared into said eyes, Tali played with Jonica’s long hair. It was so soft and smooth, and the way it fell over her face sometimes... it made her heart skip a beat. And those eyes. Probably her favorite thing about Jon. Her eyes that were always bright with life, love, and intelligence. She was such a quiet person. But her eyes spoke so loudly. 

It was moments like these, stolen moments of perfect peace, that Tali could feel her love for Jonica spread from her heart, filling her body. 

“Jonica...” she breathed.

Jon closed her eyes as she turned into Tali’s palm, and wrapped her hand lovingly around her wrist.

In a flash, Tali thought back to all the milestones in their relationship. When they’d met, she’d been immediately impressed by her, but more because she was the famed Commander Shepard out to stop injustice and bring down the rogue Spectre than anything else. She’d soon gained respect for her abilities by experiencing them in person, and she’d become something of an idol for her. The ultimate warrior bound by no rules and fighting for what’s right. And so “Commander Shepard” became simply “Commander”.

Soon, Tali came to know the commander as a person from her many visits. Tali was often surprised by the things she said, but she could not deny she’d learned from her. She opened Tali’s eyes to new perspectives she had never considered. They discussed more trivial subjects, as well. Tali discovered that the commander loved music and literature, and was, despite outward perception, quite shy. She had also learned that, despite Jon’s biotic abilities, she did not join the Alliance as a soldier, but as an engineer, which surprised her greatly. And through these conversations “Commander” became “Shepard”. 

They became friends, Shepard and Tali. Sometime after Saren’s defeat and Sovereign’s destruction, Tali realized that she had ceased to think of Shepard as her commander, but instead as a friend. This pleased her, for Shepard was not only an exceptional soldier, but also very pleasant company. She was a fascinating individual, who delighted in hearing about Tali’s culture and teaching her of her own. She was also the only person, other than Garrus, with whom she could carry out a conversation about engineering, and felt comfortable with. 

Then she was gone. And turned up again, just like before. A beacon of light against a sea of darkness. Showing up with insurmountable odds to face, and a mission they may not return from. Tali didn’t even need to think about it. 

They grew much closer over the course of time on the second Normandy. It was during this time that she came to know her simply as “Jonica”. She told Tali about her childhood in the Reds, how she survived Akuze, what it felt like to come back from the brink of death. It was something about Akuze that officially brought Tali and Jonica to that new level of familiarity. It was after a visit to Tuchanka. They had helped Grunt through his Rite of Passage, and killed a thresher maw. It was the thresher maw that did it. Tali noticed, when the ground first began to rumble, a look of stark terror on Jon’s face, followed by a split second of absolute panic when it reared its head. It was so brief Tali convinced herself it was just her imagination. Jon seemed like her ordinary self as they dodged the maw’s attacks, and eventually brought it down. There was a look of dark resolution on her face when it fell that did not fade until they were back on the Normandy.

Later, she came to Tali’s room, trembling. She was shocked to see her in such a state. She’d never seen her display any sort of fear before, and this was utter panic. 

“Shepard!” 

“Tali...” she begged

She threw herself into her chest. Tali stood stone still, alarm having frozen her body. But as she began to sob into her chest, she slid her arms around her cautiously. They remained like that for some time. Eventually, when she had calmed down, she explained. The thresher maw had reminded her of Akuze, when her whole squad died, and she was left alone, running from a thresher maw. She admitting that the experience still haunted her, and she disdained being lauded for her actions on Akuze when she had merely survived when other had not. 

“I didn’t do anything special.” she had said, “No great acts of bravery or valor. I just got away.” 

And from then on she was “Jon” to Tali. 

Jon. Her best friend. Her confidante. Her kindred spirit. Her... There came a point when Tali could no longer deny that the nature of her feelings for Jon were not purely platonic. She’d had something of a crush on Commander Shepard for some time, but that had become background noise to actually developing a relationship with Jonica. A friendship. One that now this suddenly very serious and hard to ignore crush could interfere with. 

Tali was scared when she finally slipped up and implied her feelings to Jon. Then pleasantly surprised to learn they were not unrequited. Their relationship, all of it, all the firsts for Tali were a frightening new adventure...

But still totally worth it. 

The time they spent apart when Jonica returned to the Alliance wasn’t easy. Reuniting with her... Tali knew she didn’t want to ever be separated again. So here they were. In Jonica’s bed, the light of the aquarium casting a blue glow over the room. And Jon had so much weight on her shoulders. Weight she didn’t let anyone else see wearing her down. 

“Jon?”

Jonica hummed sleepily in response. 

“I love you.”

Joncia opened her eyes to gaze into Tali’s own.

“I love you too.”

The words hung in the air for some time. Comfortably, letting them both exist in the stillness for a moment.

“Thank you for being here, Tali.”

“I’ll always be here, Jon. Always.”


End file.
